Did Oakland robber take selfie on stolen phone?

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The actor James Franco recently opined in the New York Times that the “selfie” is “one of the most popular ways to post — and garner the most likes from followers.”

But it’s not the best way to get away with an armed robbery.

Oakland police on Friday released a selfie — a photo a person takes of oneself — that they believe was taken by a man on a cell phone he had just stolen from a woman in August. (See photo at left.)

Police said they believe the man was one of two who approached the victim on the 2100 block of East 28th Street at about 7:30 p.m. Aug. 19 and demanded her cell phone and necklace.

The two men then fled the scene. Later that evening, one of the suspects used the victim’s stolen cell phone to take a selfie, police said.

It’s an increasingly common faux pas by many robbers who target high-end electronics: They don’t realize that even though they are in possession of the phone or tablet, information can still be uploaded by the victim through cloud computing.

The man who took the selfie, flashing a smile to display gold grills covering his upper and lower teeth, evidently was unaware that the victim could see his photo, and then pass it on to police.

Police are still working to identify the man, who was described to be about 5-foot-4 and 150 pounds, as well as the second suspect, who the victim described as a 6-foot tall African American male with black hair and brown eyes who weighed about 170 pounds and was between 17 to 21 years of age.

Oakland police and Crime Stoppers of Oakland are offering a reward up to $2,500 for information leading to an arrest in the case. Anyone with information is urged to call the Oakland police robbery and assault unit at (510) 238-3326.